


Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer

by Weatherboo



Category: Original Work
Genre: Cliffhangers, High School, Homework, Horror, Marnie is an anxious bean, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Random & Short, Short, Urban Legends, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000, Wordcount: Under 10.000, Young writer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:01:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24665803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weatherboo/pseuds/Weatherboo
Summary: "Did you hear?" A sentence is shared between two classmates in a roaring classroom."What?" They reply."Oh come on, it's been all over the school!""Have you heard the rumor about the alleyway?" In the school diner."Yo, you won't believe the thing they're blaming it on now." Near the sheds."Hey you've gotta hear this, it's crazy!" In an assembly."About what?""About the Widdershin."Created on a rainy day in isolation as English homework.
Kudos: 1





	1. A Murder of Crows

**Author's Note:**

> Within this piece of writing is parts 2/3 of the story. What can I say, I'm a sucker for cliffhangers :) andyeahthisismyfirsttime( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)writingonhereIhopeI'mdoingitright.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy finds out about the latest urban legend. She is not impressed.

It's different today, Lucy noted. The fog had quickly dissipated, unable to obscure her vision anymore. As soon as she'd passed through the great, heaving gates she had seen a rather unfamiliar sight: students gathered into throngs of whispering and sharing - becoming islands in the playground. All of them were pulled close together as if they would be singled out and cut off if they didn't. The myriad of expressions before her didn't offer any help, just more confusion and intrigue. Some huddled close, eyes wide and timid as a rabbit,with their posture unsure. Anxiety was the only thing observed in them. Some were purely interested in whatever they had heard, asking for more details that didn't make sense to her. Their faces seemed to light up while receiving information, stretching their features into a display of awe and childish entertainment. Then there were the ones who stood there with their eyebrow raised and their scoffing, rolling their eyes with sprinklings of amusement. They opened their mouths to whisper more. But their lips were sealed to anybody who wasn't in their mass of people. And she didn't belong to any of them. Instead, she sought out the tiniest island; an offshoot of all of the rest, as is often seen in highschool groups.

Lucy's best friend was a combination of the anxious and the entertained type and that was why she loved them. Who loves a good scare when you're having fun? It was a lifestyle. That was also why her best friend wasn't in any of the voluminous colonies that had started growing out of the school like a fungus. Marnie had never been one for large crowds either, not that they'd let her in anyway. Even walking past them made her nervous. Lucy was proud that she even got this far. Shakily, she greeted Lucy with wide eyes and a wider smile. "Do you know what's going on?" She inquired eagerly.  
"No idea. Why has everybody started playing an epicly massive game of Chinese whispers?" Lucy gestured incredulously.  
"Funny, but not correct unfortunately. There's been another murder." She replied, face conflicted on whether or not she should be sad or hyped. Not a lot happens in their town, okay?  
"Oh."  
"Same as last time?" She asked Marnie, dread coiling in the pit of her stomach like a snake that was about to strike.  
"Exactly. What, does that make it 3 in a row now? We may have a serial killer on our hands."  
"Same place?"  
"Yeah. Widdershins Alley. God, it's so damp down there. You can see the water literally dripping from the houses," Marnie shuddered.  
"Are you sure that's water?" Lucy offered up jokingly.  
"Ew, no. Nope. Do not want to think about that."  
By that point, the groups had started to move and gravitate towards the entrance. One decided to near them. Marnie sucked a breath in, previous bravado gone. They didn't even look at them, breezing past with harsh indifference. Lucy frowned. 

And school began.  
|

"Lu, do you know anything about… the Widdershin?" It was a quiet question asked on a quiet day where everyone seemed to be tiptoeing around, unwilling to step on toes or really do anything. More and more parents had kept their children at home, opting out in the name of safety and parental concern. Their absence left everyone with a burning reminder that something was wrong when they turned around to talk to someone who hadn't been at school for days. Classrooms had been eerily quiet. Kids would stay in the corridors and whisper as people went by, viewing them with nervousness and suspicion. Teachers had asked questions and received no answer. The hushed throngs were back. Everything just felt too unreal.  
"The what now?" Lucy turned around, confused.  
"You know the murders. The alley. Well, apparently all the victims have died exactly the same way. Eyes gouged out, bleeding ears and signs of a heart attack. I don't even want to imagine that, but it's true. It's too similar. People are saying, well people are saying, that, that - it might not be human. They're saying it's a Widdershin. A creature that lives down Widdershins Alley and tears out your eyes and screams so loud it makes your ears bleed. It comes out in the very early hours of the morning. It's said to look so ineffably horrifying that your heart starts to convulse and you die from a heart attack, cold and alone." She shook as she said it, eyes seemingly guarded and darting around. "Oh come on. You don't believe that, do you Marn?" She said gently," a creature living down there? No, they just made it up to scare the school. It's probably nothing." "Really?" She asked sceptically.  
"Yeah. Really."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ree let it begin:)


	2. A Gulp of Swallows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marnie has had enough and Lucy may have to leave her behind.

The school did not forget about it in a couple of months. Heck, neither did the town. They couldn't, after all.

1 month, 4 more bodies. 3 months, 2. 5 months, 6. Curfews were issued. The town had become an island in itself, separated and alone and with no one to call on if they needed help from outside. Parents showed up to take their kids home. The kids? Suffering. Their routine was a torturous loop of nothing. Wake up, get dressed, eat, go to school, sleepwalk through work in a bland classroom, go straight back home, study so then you can get out of town before the Widdershin gets you. Sadly,the adults had become like the students with their hushed tones and fearful gazes. They knew they couldn't do anything. Neither could the police - some were contemplating leaving the town altogether. And when their kids realised that, they felt even more alone. And the weight of their days grew heavier. Those remaining at school were more tightly knit than ever; football now became a brawl of people scrambling over one another and classes were spent talking about the murders.   
"The Widdershin" History.  
"The Widdershin?" Music.  
"Okay so you know the Widdershin?" Literacy.  
"The Widdershin" Maths.  
"Widdershin" Maths.  
"Widdershin" Maths.  
"OKAY ENOUGH!" Marnie shouted, face trembling, "I'M SICK OF THE WHISPERING AND THE WHISPERING AND THE WIDDERSHIN AND ALL OF THIS MESS. I JUST WANT A BREAK!" It was the loudest anyone had been all week and it was certainly the loudest she had ever been. Everyone stared at her in shock, mouths shut closed and disbelief written across their faces. Marnie kept trembling, but kept a brave face of shining determination too. Lucy stared up at her in glowing awe, so proud of Marnie once again. Too bad it was quickly snuffed out.  
"If you want a break, make it stop." A tiny voice weeded it's way through the crowd. They all parted like a curtain to now reveal a small, dead-eyed boy. His hair was matted, bags under his eyes a stormcloud grey that reflected the trapped turmoil that thrashed inside. Enclosed and withdrawn, he drew his knees up to his chest. The school rules said you couldn't sit on a chair like that, but he looked like he had given up all care of anything. He simply did not have the energy. It was a portrait of melancholy, stripes of despair running down a canvas of hopelessness with a grey void dripping right down it. The chair looked like the one who had violated the rules. He used a red clip to pin back his hair which Lucy was sure she had seen somewhere before on someone at school. This was Jay Morner, member of a family of four - now a family of two. He clutched a locket that hung from his neck like a lifeline.  
"I - what?" Marnie asked, dipping under the crackling intensity of his eyes. They raged with animosity and sharp pain. He drew the locker further into himself like he was embracing it.  
"You heard me, do something about it. Things aren't going to get better if you just sit around and let them happen. So. Do. Something." He seethed. If it was physically possible to do so, he grew further into himself. The teacher was at a loss for words. She wasn't a good teacher. But hey, she'd fallen on a hard time too during all of this. Marnie sat down, all the fight and feelings draining out of her as she deflated into her chair. Lucy hated this. Marnie looked crumpled. Rage welled within her. All this over an urban legend that isn't even true! And it's made Marn sad, annoyed the heck out of me, made everyone act so unnervingly weird and overshadowed the actual deaths of 15 people! She felt like she had been punched and insulted at the same time as seeing a puppy get kicked.

But on that very day, at that very time, Lucy realised something. She could do something about it. Something that none of them could. She could go into the alley. She could capture the evidence on her camera. No, she'd have to do more than that. There was still the possibility of murder, with or without the Widdershin. Someone was killing those people. The clock was ticking. Then set it so it uploads to the cloud and then shares it to everyone's email accounts. Then at least if she did die, everyone would know the truth - maybe she'd even help them by photographing the killer! Yes, she'd do it. It was either die now or die in the next couple of months. Her only concern: Marnie. She wouldn't be able to say anything. Though she wanted Marnie to come with her, she couldn't put her through that. She could get killed. She was strong, yes, but she was also only just gaining her strength. By the time she was ready, who knows how many people would have died? Betrayal felt like a sour and bitter weight in her soul; she would have to keep all of this from Marnie. The town would be devoid of anything if this kept up and it just felt like suffocating in classes, confinement at home and scary on the way to school. Seeing less and less students coming in every day was painful and hearing them talk about the Widdershin was just enraging now. Their town had a population of 200; how long would it take to get down to 100? 50? 25? With them not being able to do anything. Guess it was time to do what the police should have done.

When did she say it was supposed to come out? Early morning. Specifically very early. Would 3AM do? 

It was sorted. Lucy walked out, only sparing a regretful glance at Marnie on the way.

**Author's Note:**

> Well I hope I did ok! If you notice any mistakes or grammatically incorrect sentences please do point them out. Constructive criticism is always welcome!


End file.
